We’re back in the Netherlands as Frank Athlete takes charge of his second club along the River Rhine: Sparta Rotterdam. De Kasteelheren find themselves in hot water after a disappointing first half of the season, and it will be up to Frank to turn things around quickly if they are to retain their status as a top flight club. Without further ado, let’s dive in…
Season Summary
Team: Sparta Rotterdam
Division: Eredivisie
Season: 2024/25
Players in: Yoram Boerhout, Ajax (Loan); Anass Salah-Eddine, Ajax (€4.2K); Ricardo Mangas, SpVgg Greuther Furth (€775K); Thomas Buitink, Vitesse (Loan); Maudo, 1.FC Hedenheim 1846 (€2.2M)
Players out: Lennart Thy, Kaiserlautern (€100K); Mohammad Osman, Roda JC (€0)
Sparta Rotterdam had been predicted to finish 13th in the league, but found themselves struggling down in 16th at the half way stage with the worst goal difference in the division at -25. They’d been enduring a downward trend in recent seasons, finishing 8th in 2021/22, but then following that with finishes in 15th and then 14th place in 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively.
The Board of Directors’ objective for Frank was clear: avoid a relegation battle. To aid him in his conquest, he’d been handed a wage budget of €158,000 (roughly triple that of FC Dordrecht) and a transfer kitty of €1.6M. The Board had also stated a few additional preferences, including that the side play entertaining football and that any signings be either Dutch, based in the Netherlands, under the age of 23, or better yet, all three.
Since Frank had accepted the job on Christmas Eve, he had almost three weeks to assess the playing squad before their next league fixture - a home tie against fellow strugglers and local rivals Excelsior. The first thing he identified was the squad’s average age was very high, with several of the starting XI over the age of 30, and many more in their late twenties. The other obvious issue was the club had no left side full backs in their ranks, and had been making do with a utility player as cover. Elsewhere there were shortages in depth at central defence and striker, both of which would need addressing as well.
Having assessed the players at the club, Frank initially set upon a simple 4-4-2 system that would offer plenty in defence pack out the middle of the pitch and hopefully make the side harder to beat. His ethos at this stage was to shore up the defence first, then work on scoring more goals later, and with this in mind, he focussed first on filling the vacant left sided full back position. Despite not having access to a senior affiliate like FC Dordrecht did, he opted to utilise the mutually beneficial partnership the club had with Ajax and brought in young full back, Salah-Eddine for a small fee. Young striker, Yoram Boerhout, also joined from Ajax, on loan for the rest of the season, and both players would provide cover for the seniors when needed.
In terms of a starting full back, the scouting team picked up on the Portuguese Ricardo Mangas who joined for €775K on a 3 year deal. Elsewhere, central defender Maudo signs for €2.2M and Vitesse’s Thomas Buitink joins initially on loan, with an option for a permanent transfer, to challenge for a place in attack.
Heading outbound from the club were Mohammad Osman, who had been vying for a move since Frank’s arrival, as well as Lennart Thy who had become homesick and wanted to return to Germany. Despite their departures, Frank felt confident of the squad available to him, and with several potential stars currently operating in the youth and reserve teams, he had plenty of hungry youngsters to choose from if he needed additional cover.
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As the team headed into the home tie with Excelsior confidence was high, especially with them being bottom of the league. A goal for the guests in the second minute provided an early scare, but Sparta Rotterdam hit back in the 19th minute to get back on level terms. Rather than this be the catalyst for a decent performance though, the team were instead pegged back again a few minutes later and would eventually concede one more in the second half to end up losing 3-1. Not the best start for Frank at his new club, and was especially tough to take at the hands of their rivals.
Sticking with the 4-4-2 system, the next opponent was to be FC Groningen who had been playing well below their best of late and so this presented another winnable game in Frank’s eyes. Unfortunately Groningen bagged an early goal and looked in control for most of the match, despite an equaliser that kept Sparta Rotterdam in the tie until the 83rd minute. Two defeats from two now, the only good thing being that striker Steffen Tigges had bagged a goal in each game having spent most of the season as cover for left back.
A slight change in system saw Frank employ a similar tactic to that which he’d used at FC Dordrecht. The two wide midfielders advanced into the AM strata while one of the striker roles was swapped out for a DM playing as a HB. This certainly gave the team more solidity at the back, but seemed to offer very little going forward as they beat N.E.C. Nijmegen 1-0 in the next game, with them riding their luck for most of the second half.
Up next was a familiar foe in FC Dordrecht. In the three games they’d played since Frank’s departure, they’d also only managed to secure one win so it should be a fairly even tie. Frank opted to swap out the DM for an AM to match the set up the Sheepheads would be starting with, and the change transformed the team. Defensively solid, but now offering much more in attack, Sparta Rotterdam were convincing 4-0 winners with all the goals coming in the first half.
Over the next few weeks, the team would return a real mixed bag of results, notching up two more wins and a draw among six more defeats, putting the side into 15th place and within touching distance of safety. As we entered May it was crunch time with sc Heerenveen, Excelsior and FC Dordrecht hot on the heels of Sparta Rotterdam, all vying for their survival from the drop. A home 2-1 win against RKC Waalwijk was followed by a humbling 3-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Feyenoord, however both Excelsior and sc Heerenveen had failed to capitalise in their matches as well and so Sparta Rotterdam had mathematically secured their safety with a game to spare. Finishing in 13th was impossible, but the side could secure 14th with a win and end the season just one place off the media’s pre-season prediction. The team didn’t disappoint, comfortably despatching sc Heerenveen 3-1 and ending the season in 14th and a place above rivals Excelsior.
Mission accomplished for Frank and his team, and now the real work could begin as they looked to strengthen for next season to ensure they avoid any such drama next time around. The board have announced plans to build a new stadium which will have an impact on how much will be available for transfers, but Frank is hopeful at this point it will be at least as much as he was given when he arrived in December.
Results Overview
Dutch Cup
Prediction: Second Round
Actual: Second Round (knocked out prior to arrival)
Summary: Prior to Frank’s appointment, Sparta Rotterdam had already made a Second Round Dutch Cup exit via a penalty shootout against SC Cambuur. Meanwhile, FC Dordrecht made it all the way to the semi finals where they lost 1-0 to FC Volendam.
Best moment: Not really applicable since Frank didn’t manage any Sparta Rotterdam games in the Dutch Cup, but was pleasing to see his Dordrecht side do so well.
Low moment: Although not in charge at the time, it’s always difficult to lose a game on penalties, and in fact Sparta were 2-0 up with 30 mins to go before full back Pachonik was sent off. Had he remained on the pitch, maybe the side would have held out for a win.
Eredivisie
Prediction: 13th
Actual: 14th (16th on arrival)
Summary: After a poor start, it took several games to find a system that worked, but after a while things started to pick up. The initial tactic was too cautious, but after a few tweaks the side were able to be much more positive which was the difference in the end.
Best moment: The side’s defensive record improved dramatically under Frank, conceding 22 goals in 17 games versus 41 goals in 17 games in the first half of the season.
Low moment: The Excelsior loss was a major blow, as were the defeats to Roda JC and VVV Venlo, both of which were winnable but for the red card received in each fixture. Those results ultimately put the team under enormous pressure to secure their safety.
Statistical Analysis
As noted above, Frank did a decent job of shoring up the defence on his arrival at the club. Despite losing 10 of his 17 games in charge, he almost halved the number of goals conceded compared to the first half of the season.
Our clearances, blocks and tackles attempted stats were all way above the league average too, not surprising for a team that spent a lot of time on the back foot, but we also committed a lot of fouls which is really something that needs addressing for next season.
At the other end of the pitch, our efficiency in attack shows that while our shooting is passive, we’re also clinical. In fact, our shots per game were a lot less than the league average but our shots on target ratio was 10% better than the average, and our crossing was marginally better too.
Despite our cross completion being decent, 56% of our assists came from through balls down the middle and only 19% came from wide areas. Also worth noting, 81% of our goals were scored from just inside the area which is something we may want to work on so we’re less dependent on one type of goal.
The last thing worth mentioning is the state of the club’s finances. Immediately on conclusion of the season the Board have announced plans to build a new stadium, increasing our capacity from 13,248 to 20,359 and at a cost of €43M. Whilst in the long run this move will offer the club a greater chance of securing matchday revenue, it’s all but crippled us in the short term as we look to repay the €40M loan secured from the bank. The stadium will be completed in July 2027 so it’s a few years before we get the extra gate receipts anyway.
Around the Grounds
In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…
A Few Moments Later… - FMPressure returns with a detailed update on his time with Torino in Serie A, and what a time it’s been!
"Data-led Scouting in Major League Soccer" - La Plata: Vice - In this update, FM Grasshopper collaborates with FM Stag to identify some transfer targets through a data-led approach to scouting, similar to what is often referred to as the “Moneyball approach”.
FM22 | The opening two seasons with Warta - FMRensie shares the latest on his progress at Warta Poznan as he reviews how the first two seasons have gone in Poland.
MLS Football Manager 22 Guide - Acquiring Players - FMEadster shares yet more of his new-found wisdom on the MLS, this time looking at how to go about acquiring players.
PAS Lamia 1964 - 1.7: Passports At the Ready - Can DGear86 finally steer his team into the European football qualification?
Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.
Thanks for reading this update, I really hope you enjoyed it. You’ll find more updates from me, as well as blogs from some other fantastic writers at CoffeehouseFM so make sure you check them out. Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can message me @fm_athlete if you feel like getting in touch.
Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘bobbing along to the beat’. See you next time.